We'll Go From There
by SmilesThroughFandoms
Summary: While escaping Russia, Zack, Michael, Sabrina, and Dakota have a conversation about what could go wrong in Paris and what to do aout it. (Anastasia AU. Also birthday gift for wiz-witch, posted on Ao3 under the same name)


The train shook as it sped down the icy tracks. Not enough to be troubling, but enough to remind the travelers that this train was old. The putrid, crowded car they all sat in reminded them that despite paying quite the pretty penny for the ticket and passports, under the new government, everyone was equal in their squalor.

That didn't stop Zack from glancing out the window of the moving train. He almost didn't want to believe it. They were almost out. The young boy glanced at his companions. Dakota was nearly bouncing in his seat, and excited smile on his face. Michael and Sabrina glanced down at their shoes pensively; Michael's dog, Diogee, wagging his tail contently. The two were no doubt pondering what would happen to them once they reach Paris.

Admittedly, Zack had put a lot of thought into what might happen when they reach Paris. _A lot_ of thought. He couldn't help it! There was so much.

Grand Duchess might not believe their story, she might not even want to look at them, and that was just the basic stuff! Zack wasn't even accounting for the random, chaotic instances of bad luck that just so happen to take place around Michael. Just then, the rickety window to Dakota's immediate right shattered, letting in a blast of cold, Russian air.

Michael was prepared, however, rushing over and placing a large tarp that he produced from his knapsack over the window. Sabrina stepped forward, reaching into her friend's knapsack, and pulling out some nails and a mallet. Diogee, startled from his place, merely blinked before jumping into Dakota's lap. The man in questioned laughed good-naturedly. "It's a good thing ya two are always prepared."

Michael shrugged as Sabrina reached over and placed the mallet back in the knapsack. "Well, we have lived on the streets for as long as we can remember. It's nice to be prepared for any eventuality!"

Zack smiled. Michael was always so optimistic about everything. His life, his bad luck, even his and Sabrina's chances of finding their families, despite their lack of memories of them. If Zack was being honest with himself, it was one of the (many) things he admired about Michael.

A strongly built man sitting a few rows behind them glanced up from his newspaper, glaring slightly at the four friends. If Zack remembered correctly from what Dakota has told him, that was Count Roger Doofenshmirtz, a well-read member of the Imperial Russian Court. No doubt fleeing the horrible regime that was recently put in place. "Do you children mind? Some of us are trying to read, after all."

Sabrina glared the man, "Who do you think you are, talking to us like that?"

Count Roger raised a brow, appalled at the fact that Sabrina had the gall to question him. "Who do _you_ think you are, to be able to question me like that?"

Michael, who had quietly listening in on the conversation, eyes lit up with an idea to defend his friend. " _I_ am Milo Dangér Murphy, Tsare—" Dakota hastily reached over, clamping a hand over Michael's mouth before pulling him back towards his seat.

Sabrina smiled confidentially, ignoring her friend's warning looks. "And _I'm_ Princess Melissa of—" Dakota gave the young girl an exasperated look and, not letting go of Michael just yet, grabbed Sabrina by the arm and yanking her back into her seat.

Shaking the last bit of snow from her curly red hair, Sabrina glared sharply at Dakota. "What was that for?" Dakota glanced behind them in time to see Count Roger roll his eyes before returning to his paper, uninterested in the group's conversation.

"You can't say that here!" Zack explained, after Dakota gave him the all clear to talk.

"Why not?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah, you said that's who we are—" Michael glanced at Zack curiously.

"I said that you _might_ be them." Zack clarified.

"Well, can you blame us for wanting to test how the name sounds?" Michael asked. "For once we both have names to our faces. Actual names!" Michael smiled excitedly. "Not just the ones the orphanage gave us when we arrived…"

"Can't we just practice saying them?" Sabrina asked

Dakota frowned sympathetically. "They have a point, y'know?"

Zack raised a brow at his companion. "Whose side are you on, again?"

The older man held up his hands in surrender, shifting to a more comfortable position in his seat, holding Diogee in his arms as he did so. The dog merely whined quietly at being moved again, but Dakota quickly shushed him.

Zack brought Michael and Sabrina in close and whispered, "We're almost out. When we are, you can practice saying the names as much as you want. Ok?

That seemed to pacify the two of them, as the quietly nodded before sliding into their seats once again. After a few moments of silence Sabrina glanced at Dakota, who was giddying grinning at the one window he could still glance out of. Smirking, Sabrina fully turned to the man. "So, Dakota, you seem pretty excited about this trip…"

"Who wouldn't be happy with a trip t' Paris?" The man asked.

Shrugging, Sabrina plopped down next to the man, scratching Diogee's head as she did so. "I know. But you seem… _extra_ excited." That brought a blush to Dakota's cheeks.

"Ooh! Someone's blushing…" Michael smiled. Zack rolled his eyes fondly, knowing all to well what was about to come.

"Ok, I might be excited to see more than the sights in Paris…"

Pulling Diogee into her lap, Sabrina raised a brow. "Who is it?"

Dakota sighed dreamily. "Count Balthazar Cavendish, the handsomest man to have graced all of Russia."

"Count Balthazar… Should I know him?" Michael asked Zack.

The boy shrugged. "He was more involved the Tsarina's—I mean—your mother's side of the family. I think he was her second cousin once removed…"

Dakota and Sabrina didn't seem to be paying attention to their companion's conversation. "He might've been a bit pompous and stuck-up, but he was smart and funny and just so…" Dakota sighed dreamily again, causing Sabrina to giggle.

"So, I take it Count Cavendish is going to be in Paris? More specifically, where we're heading?" Sabrina asked.

Dakota nodded happily. "Last I knew, he was serving as an assistant to the Grand Duchess Sara while she's in exile." Dakota let out and excited, yet nervous, laugh before continuing. "I just hope Cavendish is happy to see me."

"C'mon, Dakota, how could he _not_ be?" Sabrina encouraged.

"Well, I may have put on a little… _weight_ since I've seen him. And I have a few more gray hairs than I'd to admit to."

Sabrina, with a small smile on her face, gave Dakota a once over. "I don't know, Dakota. I'd say you look very distinguished!" Dakota rolled his eyes and laughed fondly.

"Yeah, alright, keep tellin' yourself that."

"I'm serious!" Sabrina handed Diogee over to Michael before stepping closer to Dakota. "You are a wonderful man, and you wanna know what you're going to do once we're in Paris?"

"What am I gonna do?"

"You are going to straighten up, walk over and bow to him like the frisky, young wolf you are and show him what he's been missing!" Sabrina smirked confidentially, hoping to rub some of that confidence onto Dakota.

It came as a bit of a surprise to Sabrina when Dakota started to nod along. "Yeah, yeah… We'll do some reminiscing over some good wine…" The older man gasped excitedly, face splitting into a wide grin. "And dinner!"

"Wine and dinner, boom!" Sabrina cheered.

"Wait, what happens if he says no?" Zack asked.

The thought hadn't crossed Sabrina and Dakota's mind before, but now that they thought about it, the possibility that Count Cavendish would say no. Dakota merely shrugged. "Then I guess we'll go from there."

Michael made a face at the idea. Before anyone could comment on it, however, he hugged Diogee a bit closer before getting up to stand by one of the windows. Zack observed his companion from his seat while Sabrina and Dakota merely went back to brainstorming ideas on how best to present Dakota to Count Cavendish.

Michael, meanwhile, was starting to get a little nervous. Ok, no, not nervous. He was an utter mess! His hands were shaking, his shoulders trembled in anxiousness, and his heart was thundering in his chest. Resting his head against the window, he quietly muttered to himself "Oh, why did I say yes to this?"

Zack, overhearing his comment and, fearing that he might back out, went over to him, grabbing his hands. Michael blushed at the sudden contact, glancing up to meet Zack's intense gaze. "Take a deep breath," Michael nodded as he and Zack both inhaled and exhaled deeply, "and get a grip on the situation."

Michael frowned worriedly. "I'm trying, Zack! I really am, it's just… This is the only chance Sabrina and I have at finding who we are and finding our family. What if we mess up?"

Zack glanced down, frowning slightly. "This… This is my only chance too. I've been stuck in that terrible country for so long… I'm terrified of failing and having to go back."

"So… we're both scared?"

"Uh-huh."

"And we have no idea how any of this is going to go, exactly?"

"Right."

Michael paused, considering his next words, before asking Zack "What're we gonna do?"

Zack furrowed his brow in thought before exhaling and forcing a small smile to his face as a nearby passenger's chair broke, more than likely due to Michael being presented. "We have a show to put on! Once we get to Paris, we'll know what's what and what we have to deal with. Once we do the rewards start flowing. For now, we'll just go from where we're at."

Dakota and Sabrina joined their companions at the window, with Sabrina leaning against Michael and Dakota slinging an arm across Zack's shoulder. The four glanced out the window for a while, letting themselves enjoy the scenery. Dakota smiled wistfully. "Lovely day for a ride…" He commented.

"And a lovely day for a," Sabrina leaned in closer to her companions and whispered, " _totally illegal_ getaway."

The three men laughed and Diogee wagged his tail appreciatively at the comment. Michael turned to Dakota and asked, "Are you scared about what might happen to us in Paris?"

"Are ya kiddin' me? I'm terrified." Dakota told them bluntly. "There's so much that could go wrong… It's driving me crazy." Michael and Sabrina were far from reassured with that comment. Zack elbowed Dakota, glaring at him before nodding towards the two orphans.

Dakota winced before holding up his hands in defense. "But that doesn't mean we'll fail! We just have a long ride ahead of us. And, frankly, we don't have to worry about our doubts until we get to Paris."

"Yeah, we have no time to spare for any of our self-doubt!" Zack told them.

The two orphans nodded in agreement as Diogee let out a happy, yet thankfully quiet, bark towards the window. The four companions glanced out to see a sign that read, _'Russian Border: 161 km'_. Their mouths nearly dropped to the floor.

"We're… we're nearly out." Michael said in shock.

"We're so close!" Sabrina smiled

The four companions exchanged excited smiles before Dakota clasped his hands together, getting the kid's attention. "Alright, let's sit back down, we've still got a lot to prepare for." Still excited to be so close to the exit, the three children nodded and followed the older man back to their seats.

The four were on their way out of Russia, and while they had a general idea of getting to Paris, none of them were quite sure of how they were going to do it. However, wherever they ended up and however they ended up getting to Paris didn't really matter. They had each other for support and a plan to daring to fail.

Some might say that this wasn't enough to work of off, but neither of them really cared. They would figure out the rest later and go from there when they could.


End file.
